Yes, in reality most people are very nice about it. “Nice about it” doesn’t mean you aren’t causing excruciating migraines and making everyone fantasize about throwing you and your kid out without a parachute at 20,000 feet.
I recently flew with my then 19-month old to India from St. Louis so he could meet his great-granddad before it’s too late (my husband’s grandfather is very sick and obviously couldn’t travel). My son was fabulous, even on the return flight, which was 17 hours (India to New Jersey, then NJ to St. Louis). He cried maybe a total of 10-20 minutes on each India flight even though he was absolutely exhausted and didn’t sleep more than seven hours. My only regret was that I hadn’t done it sooner, like when he was about 3-4 months. At least then I would have been able to nurse him to sleep and he probably would have stayed sleeping much of the flight.
If your child is reasonably happy and will suck on something to help his/her hears, take the flight. I got really lucky with my son on the India trip, particularly given he was in that in-between stage when he was old enough to need and want to run around but too young yet to really obey me. Thank God for empty water bottles and straws - he played with an old Aquafina bottle and a black stir straw for a good three hours on the way from Bombay to Newark. Who knew they were such interesting toys? People around me were probably laughing at the lumbering American woman saving her trash. Ah, well. Good times.
We like it when Poms bring babies. It keeps the dingoes well fed and then they don’t bother our own.
This. Also, I have never had engine noise disguise or otherwise reduce the noise of a screaming baby. I’m nervous when I fly to begin with. Humans are kind of evolutionarily hard-wired to have some sort of response to a crying baby; it’s really hard to ignore it. Combining the two does not make for a fun flight, even a short couple hours.
I say that if you must go, leave the kid with Grandma or someone. If you absolutely cannot avoid bringing a child on a plane, give him some Benadryl beforehand. It hopefully will help with the pressure on his ears, and even more hopefully will make for a very sleepy baby.
It depends on the kid and your good luck. I would have never, ever taken my boy at that age on long flights. He slept 90-120 minutes then woke screaming for the breast his first few months. Around the clock. For months (well, three). Doctor said he was fine & healthy. He was just ornery, I guess.
He learned to walk at nine months. That was fun, oy. Can you guess why we only have one?
I’ve done the trip (East Coast of the US to Oz) twice with babies! The first was with my oldest, when he was about 10 months. The second was when my oldest was 3 and my youngest was about 7 months (and we had our dog with us that time, too). It was no problem; for both trips, the kids slept nearly the whole time and the worst part of the whole thing was actually arriving and trying to get them adjusted to the time.
I second the suggestion of requesting bulkhead seating with a bassinet. I would recommend asking exactly what that bassinet is, though. When we flew with my oldest as a baby (I think that was Air New Zealand), it was a very nice, flip down, sturdy bassinet that was attached to the wall. It was all very safe-looking and secure. When we flew with my youngest, the “bassinet” was a little cardboard box that looked very similar to a body bag. We were supposed to put the baby in it and set him on the floor. Uh huh. Needless to say, we ended up holding him for the entire flight. PITA, but we managed and he was probably happier, anyway.
:rolleyes: Nice. If anyone did fantasize about throwing me and my kid out without a parachute at 20,000 feet (and, really - no parachute? I mean, even with the damn parachute we’d still be off the plane and no longer causing you to have a migraine, would it be so hard to give us a parachute? I realize I am vastly overanalyzing your violent little fantasy, here, but come on) then they were just being a dick, because like I said earlier, my kids have never screamed on planes. Although it does give me a warm and wonderful feeling inside to know that even though my kids have always been really well-behaved and quiet on airplanes, some of my fellow passengers are still concocting elaborate violent fantasies about what they would like to do to me and my children.
I don’t know why I open these threads anymore.
Strongly seconded. We took some long plane trips with our boys when they were very little, but never that long a trip. It could be absolutely awful, depending upon the temperament of the kid/what he ate that day/what bugs are circulating in that stale aircraft air/any one of several hundred other factors. I’d say make other arrangements for caregiving and go sans enfant. You deserve a break anyway, you’ll be much less stressed, and everyone within ten rows of your seat will be happier.
You think one crappy day of traveling would be less stressful than leaving a 6 week old infant for a week (two?) while you’re several thousand miles away? That sounds like a really bad plan to me. Maybe Busy Scissors could just leave his family at home, but having actually done this trip, it really, really isn’t a big deal. Especially since a 6 week old is very likely to sleep and nurse the entire time.
Awe jeez. The baby’s not an “it.” The baby’s a he or she.
I few from Sydney to LA in cattle car class with a Ma, a Pa and a little terror in the seats next to me. Fourteen hours non-stop. The flight was that long as well.
The flight attendants were stressed out dealing with the noise complaints, the smell, and the indifference from the parents that their little cherub was causing. This was before iPods and other electronic distractions. Even a case of Double-As were insufficient with powering the CD player that long. Besides, occupying the ears does nothing about the smell. Have I mentioned the smell yet?
Granted, your cherub may end up being the Bees Knees on the flight(s) and nary a problem. Whatever you decide, just think of the other passengers long before you go. These days, some passengers might not appreciate it and a polite comment to the flight attendant will not suffice. They attempt to take some action on their own.
If you’re in that parental period when someone comments about the effects a shrieking child has on their migraines and even though your child is a perfect angel but you immediately decide everyone is after your child and having murderous fantasies about it, then yes, staying out of these threads might not be a bad idea.
If your kids don’t scream on planes, what ever could be your problem with me, and made you think I’d have any problem with you?
New parent, yes?
I don’t think that is legitimate advice for a baby that young coming from anyone but the child’s pediatrician. How about this advice instead: “Ask the child’s doctor whether giving him/her Benadryl would be appropriate.” (I’m guessing the answer is that it is completely inappropriate, but IANAD.)
Thanks all for the posts - v helpful. Even the one about the benadryl :rolleyes:
Our baby boy is probably middle of the road as far as crying goes, I’ve only heard him scream when he’s hungry. He’s breast fed, so usually gets a feeding straight away. He’s also very calm with the pacifier; again the only time I’ve seen this not work is when he’s hungry. The breast-feeding is a reason why it would be hard to leave him with family, we’d give the trip a miss before doing this I think.
I agree with CairoCarol about the engine noise. I find all of my senses are blunted when flying, particularly hearing. Unless the baby is going completely mental I don’t think it would be a big deal to the flight at large.
One thing that gives me pause is changing the old nappies. Our lad has gone from a stage of needing a dirty nappy change frequently every day, to needing one changed once every 3 or 4 days. Without getting into the details, it’s a big job. Not one you’d relish carrying out on an aircraft. His movements may well have changed again by the time of the trip though.
We did the reverse trip (Melbourne to Aberdeen) with our September baby to visit the grandparents for Christmas. So… three and a half months old on the way there, four and a half months on the way back. It was hard work, but quite doable. The younger the better, really - I wouldn’t be game to travel that far with a kid between about 9 months and 4, but little babies sleep a lot and don’t get antsy that you won’t let them run backwards and forwards down the aisles.
One thing that helped a lot on the way over was the scheduling of the flight - we flew Japan Airlines on an afternoon departure, got into Tokyo in the evening with 12 hours till the next leg of our flight and got a complimentary room in the airport hotel. It was WONderful. On that trip she slept almost all of the two outward legs, AND a fair amount in the hotel, and we got some sleep in a bed too, so we were set.
Homeward bound, she was that little bit older and less sleepy - this one was basically straight through, with a little stopover (three or four hours? something like that). She didn’t sleep AT ALL the last leg. Babywearing saved our sanity at that point - we took it in turns to walk up and down the aisle with her strapped on in front of us, while the other one got some shuteye. This soothed her enough to stop her crying, even though she didn’t actually sleep, as such, at that point.
Don’t stress too much, definitely invest in a good carrier (I’m partial to the Peanut Shell myself, but anything that you and the baby find comfy is good) if you don’t already have one, come and enjoy yourselves!
babies that age at, poop, sleep. plane s no different. hell, i took 6 month old twins on a 14 hour flight both ways across the pacific.
IMHO, i fond non attentive parents or parents bitching on the flight to be ally irritating. quietly do what you can and i’ll orgoe the kids anything.
A) Not that baby. My little niece, she is a sweetheart. My cousin’s kids, they are adorable and all he’s or she’s. That little kid was a hellion.
B) Truth be told, I don’t really remember if it was a he or a she, it’s been so long.
C) It does the baby no harm to be referred to as an it. It does no one any harm.
Sorry; I foolishly assumed, when you replied directly to my post, that you were specifically addressing me. Thanks for clarifying. And no, I’m not a new parent (my oldest is 6), I’m just tired of these motherfucking threads complaining about all of these motherfucking babies on the motherfucking planes.
I couldn’t help myself. Please don’t throw things at me.
We did it - Melbourne to London, various other places, then Paris to Melbourne - when my eldest was 8-9 months. We had a bulkhead bassinet. She didn’t cry once - it was all too interesting.
We didn’t have a bassinet initially when we got on at Charles de Gaulle. I was shitting myself. Fortunately others saw the sense in changing seats.
Travelling with an older toddler - just under two - my advice would be, take a portable DVD player or ipod loaded up with his or her favourite kiddy shows … Thomas the Tank Engine single-handedly prevented our fellow passangers from having murderous thoughts about us. 